Nintendo updates Wii U Miiverse – new communities, smartphone support

Nintendo’s Miiverse – their equivalent of a social network on the Wii U – is to get a series of updates this year, according to Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata in today’s Nintendo Direct session about the newly released console.

Some of the new features will be tied to specific games – both console and Virtual Console. For example, Wii Fit U will allow the creation of “closed communities” where users can share personal details like weight and height between members of their fitness group, as well as encouragement. In order to access these communities, you will need to know the ID to access these groups. Pikmin 3 will let you use the Wii U GamePad as an in-game camera and take screenshots to share with the game’s Miiverse community group.

Similar to Google+ and Twitter, Miiverse will introduce “verified” accounts – reserved for public figures and developers. They have green little ticks on the top-left corner, and will have the ability to post YouTube videos and links to websites.

From Autumn, you will be able to browse Miiverse from your smartphone as well and all you need is your Nintendo Network ID. It will initially be a web app – meaning that it can be used on all platforms – with dedicated apps coming later. No word on what platforms they will support in terms of an actual mobile app. However, most likely, it will be iOS and Android.

Other changes include users creating their own communities; games having the ability to have more than one official community; usability changes; and filtering of posts.